1) Nikola Jokic

Nikola has the MVPs, the crazy statistics, the crazy impact. In 2025 he became only the 3rd player ever to finish a season averaging a triple double, and the first center to ever do it. He has broken several of Wilt’s records. He’s been arguably the clear best player in the league for some 4 years running now in a row. His metrics are stupidly good, and he has a ring. If he gets a 2nd ring – with THIS Nuggets squad that has typically struggled when he was on the bench, and that has players like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr who will likely be traded soon if they don’t win this year… that will be a VERY strong ring. That will give him 3 MVPs and 2 Rings – without having played with an All-Star/All-NBA teammate until this year (an older Russell Westbrook who plays a lot with the bench). He has never played with a super team. If Jokic wins this… he already has an argument for top 10 all time.

He will go from a probable top 20-25 player to confirmed top 10 player at minimum with an EASY path to go higher. (He hasn’t played with an All-NBA player in their prime yet.) Basically, you have to take him seriously as a Top 10 and potential GOAT-level player.

2) Steph Curry

If Curry wins a ring with Warriors team, it will be special. For starters, he is 37, and Draymond and Butler are around 35. So none of these guys are in their primes, despite them still holding and playing at a high level. More importantly, the rest of this Warriors roster is really nothing special. GPII has largely bounced around the league outside of Golden State, guys like Moody and Kuminga are high draft picks who never get consistent playing time, Buddy Hield is another player who has bounced around the league due to his streaky scoring and BB IQ. Podziemski is a 2nd year player who has been largely inconsistent this year – only improving when Butler came to them. In short, they have a bunch of young developing guys who they have to squeeze anything out of it, and a few veterans that are limited.

So a LOT rides on Curry, Butler, and Draymond (and let’s be real, Draymond’s defense). If Curry wins a ring with this group, it will be his 5th ring, his 3rd ring without Durant, a ring without Klay Thompson, and another ring with a different small forward. Additionally, despite Butler’s previous greatness, Curry winning will mean that he gave another player a legacy-boost playing next to him. Butler will go from a Reggie Miller type player to a champion. We saw Curry enhance Andrew Wiggins’s legacy – from borderline draft bust to borderline #2 option on a Championship team. And yes, he boosted Kevin Durant’s legacy as well – from regular hall of famer who might have been ringless to a player that some people were briefly pushing as a top 10 player of all time. Most of Curry’s teammates have very different legacies without him. Even Klay Thompson has unfortunately become irrelevant since leaving the Warriors.

So in short, if Curry wins a ring – he will go from consensus top 10-level player with a few occasional GOAT shoutouts to a potential top 5 player that with strong GOAT consideration. Many will want to push him as the GOAT point guard, which by default will make him a top 5-ish player anyway. (Magic Johnson had Kareem for all his titles – Curry only had KD for 2, by the way).

3) Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard’s case is really simple. He’s great two-way player, has 2 rings and 2 Finals MVPs (one as a role player). And his career has largely been injury riddled. If he wins another, then it becomes VERY apparent that Kawhi could have been an easy top 10 player ever if he had been healthy in his career.

But… let’s be honest. If Kawhi loses, we need to have a real conversation about him. His legacy is really being propped up by the “what-could-have-been” factor. Are we sure he’s really this Kobe/MJ successor if he is healthy? Or is he simply a “regular” great player whose legacy is being inflated by his aesthetics, and beating Lebron as a role player and beating Curry when KD and Klay got hurt? Kawhi’s legacy will be defined this year if he doesn’t get injured. He’s either secretly the next MJ, or he’s just a better version of DeRozan.

4) Jayson Tatum

Ah yes, the infamous Jayson Tatum.

Tatum has racked up accolades – 6x All-Star, 4x All-NBA (3x 1st Team All-NBA) and is a champion. He is an ironman who has played more games and more minutes than almost any player since he’s entered the league. He has great advanced stats and impact, and has succeeded with a variety of teammates.

He doesn’t have the MVP yet, but he wins with the Celtics – it’ll be their 2nd straight ring – making them the 1st team to repeat as NBA champions in nearly 7 years.

That’s a great launching pad for him to be a future top 15 player, like it or not. Tatum is a versatile player with a strong skillset, he’s a jack-of-all-trades who can fit next to anyone – traditional bigs, floor-spacing bigs, two-way wings, catch-and-shoot forwards, traditional point guards, combo guards, etc. Tatum winning a 2nd ring in a row will allow him to spearhead the potential next NBA dynasty, and force people to really take him seriously as the best player in the league, and potential all-time great.

5) Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic is a player that many are waiting to be the face of the league. He’s a prodigy who was immediately great since he’s entered the league, and has elevated some not-so-great Mavericks teams, and got one of them to the Finals in 2024.

He has received criticism over his weight, and flaws (defense, off-ball movement, ball-dominance), but him winning a ring with the Lakers after making it last year will be impressive – to go to a new team midseason, and play with a player like LeBron whose skillset is similar to yours… and making it work with only half a season of chemistry would be great feat, and would also dispel any concerns about his skillset.

He has the accolades already. Him winning a ring will give him an automatic top 20 spot, and also put him on the path to being an all-timer great.

Others

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – SGA will likely win his first MVP this year, and get another All-NBA. His “legacy” is in its infancy, so winning a ring will be the beginning of his making a mark on the league.

Giannis Antetokounmpo – Giannis has a fair bit to gain winning a ring this year. If he wins – especially with Damian Lillard getting hurt – it’ll be a very impressive ring. Giannis is already a fringe top 15 to top 20 player, winning another in this manner would put him to near or maybe top 10 status. But people still have skepticism over his game and playstyle – and the fact that his lone ring came from facing a Nets team whose star players all went down to injury. Giannis additionally has had some bad playoff exits in the past, and so all of this combined with his recent injury history has made some of his hype and adulation cool off.

LeBron James – LeBron James doesn’t have much to gain, simply because he is already in the GOAT debate, and there is not much that can be done to change where he sits in the eyes of many. Either you think LeBron is the GOAT already, or you don’t because Jordan has 2 more rings than him and LeBron had the 2011 Finals meltdown and has team-hopped. He’s likely going to stay where he is at.

Jaylen Brunson – Jaylen Brunson is not largely considered the best player in the league, so winning a ring will just launch his legacy. Winning a ring with the Knicks will be huge, but will also bring as much attention to the Knicks as will for him individually.

The rest – Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, etc. are still young and have little accolades or playoff series wins to largely boost their “legacies”. Winning a chip will just start their legacy, and make them the face of the league, at best.

Donovan Mitchell – Mitchell has very few accolades, and has never been considered a top 5 player in the league. At best he’s been top 10 in some years. So winning a ring in a year like this won’t change much for his perception. At best it will guarantee him a spot in the hall of fame if he has some strong seasons later in his career.